Mr. Miracle Sculpting

Original wax sculpting are akin to the rock stars of the toy prototype world. Aside from rough sculpts, occasionally accomplished in clay, a sculpting is considered the true parent that gives rise to every action figure for the particular character. The sculpt serves as the initial three-dimensional prototype stage. The photo above shows several components of the Mr. Miracle action figure sculpting and his accessory.

The plastic discs are still present in the thigh and arm sculpts, but the disk has been removed from the head. These discs serve as attachment and alignment points for the head and limbs in relation to the torso. The lower legs also have small per-fabricated components protruding from them; it's visible on the right leg where it has separated from the wax portion. Again, this ensures a proper fit and alignment between the upper and lower legs. Once a sculpting served it's purpose, to cast silicone molds used to make hardcopies, the discs were sometimes removed for re-use and in some instances the wax was melted down for other sculpting projects. While collectors view these sculptings as works of toy art, they were often viewed as a means to an end whose value was worth nothing more than the raw material once the silicone molds were poured; an action figure byproduct of sorts, if you will.

While the figure components are sculpted in pink wax, the shackle accessory is made from styrene, a white plastic material, with details built up and added in wax throughout both pieces. Sculptings are about as rare as hen's teeth and accompanying accessories are even rarer. Pink colored wax was commonly used on Kenner sculptings, but other colors were used as well including white and tan. Wax choice essentially came down to sculptor preference and availability.

A sculpting, like it's future hardcopy spawn, is slightly larger than the eventual injection molded production figure. The details are extremely crisp and noticeably more defined than its production counterpart since some of these details are lost or softened throughout the production process.

While I wish the entire sculpting survived and still hold out hope that some of the missing components may still surface, the photographed components may very well represent all that remains of the original Mr. Miracle action figure sculpting. The sculpts nicely compliment other Mr. Miracle prototypes in my collection including the painted catalog photography sample protomolded figure and an unpainted first shot.